A New Beginning
by katrinachance
Summary: A GHDays Crossover. After Lucas has ended it with Sami, she checks her email to find several emails from her old friend Liz Webber and she decides to leave Salem for Port Charles to support Liz and to start a new life! Chapter Five is Up! June 1 2005
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One

Sami hated this. She couldn't believe what had happened in the past few weeks. Her life with Lucas had come to a horrible end, at least to her. And Will hated her.

For weeks, she sat inside her apartment, not doing much. Though her emails kept her busy. She had been keeping in touch with certain friends of hers from her days in Colorado, but she hadn't checked it out in weeks. She was way behind and came upon an email from one of her good friends. The girl had been a wild child, but had calmed down considerably after she had been raped.

She read the message and smiled. She had never seen her so happy. Her good friend had gotten a second chance with her true love. Sami was about to email her back when she noticed how old the message was. She went to her email list and saw several other messages from her good friend. She opened each one and read about the renewed adventures her good friend was having, and then two shocking emails came from her.

The first she read in shock.

"Sami,

I can't believe what happened today. Lucky was shot by Helena Cassadine and he's in critical condition here at GH. I'm thankful Steven got him stabilized, but I am so scared! I can't lose him, not now that we're finding our way back to each other! I love him! I never stopped!

Let me tell you, Sami, I thought that was enough, but it seems that Mac Scorpio and my ex Ric Lansing want to charge Lucky with interfering in an investigation. I can actually say that he did for a reason and that is they were not doing their jobs. Lucky did what he had to.

Keep in touch, Sami. I need my good friend.

Elizabeth."

_Oh my god! Poor Liz! Poor Lucky! That __Helena__ needs to be put six feet under! _Sami thought as she went to the next email from Elizabeth.

She read this one and knew her good friend needed her now.

"Sami,

I came so close to losing Lucky a few days ago. He flatlined and they had to bring him back. It didn't seem like he was going to come back, but finally he did. This was all caused by him having a stroke, thanks to his gunshot wound. Tony said he may never recover, but Lucky is stubborn. He knows that he can't leave, not when we have found our way back to each other.

Lucky's dad, Luke, wants to remove him off life support. Over my dead body. Emily, Nikolas, Skye, Bobbie, and I are fighting against him in court. We won't let him kill Lucky.

I wish you were here. I need my good friend so much through this situation. I hope to hear from you soon.

Elizabeth."

Sami quickly replied to this one.

"Liz,

Don't you worry. I'll be there soon. You need me too much right now, and trust me, there is no way I am letting that man take away the man you love.

There are a few things I need to tell you, but I will wait until I get there. See you soon.

Sami."

She sent the message and then ran into her bedroom and packed a few suitcases and wrote a quick note for her family and one for Lucas and Will before she marched out of her apartment and out to her car.

She started the car and sped toward the highway. Her good friend needed her and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to be there for her.

* * *

Elizabeth took her shift in barricading Lucky's room against Luke with a slight smile on her face. She loved being by Lucky's side and she wanted him to wake up soon and prove Luke and Tony wrong. She wanted so much for Lucky to prove both men wrong. She monitored his condition closely to see if there were any changes and there seemed to be some slight changes for the better, but Tony had said that it wasn't an improvement in his condition. But Steven had looked at it and said that it could show that Lucky was battling his way back to them slowly. Steven was ready to testify on their side in court so that Luke wouldn't be able to remove Lucky off of life support. His sister wasn't going to lose the man she loved. Over his dead body.

A knock sounded on the door and Liz turned to see her brother and a young woman standing outside the door. She unlocked the door and looked at her brother questioningly. "Steven, who's this?"

"Liz, this is Dr. Natalia Stenovich. She just transferred in and she wants to check out Lucky's condition and wants to gauge how he's doing," Steven said.

"Trust me, Liz. My little brother is one of the most important people in my life. I'm not going to let my stepfather kill him," Natalia said.

Liz's eyes went wide for a moment, then narrowed with slight realization. "You're Nikolas's twin sister?"

"Yes, one of them. Nadia is on her way right now after a meeting with the family board in Nik's stead," Natalia said.

"What could the family board do for Nikolas that we haven't tried already?" Liz asked.

"This is about Helena. They want her dead and they don't care how. Nadia went to discuss her execution. She's really into Roman history and I wonder if she convinced them to crucify the bitch, literally," Natalia said. She giggled slightly as she approached her half-brother. "Would you like that, Lucky? That bitch on a cross, dying like the criminal that she is?"

Lucky's heart rate sped up slightly and Natalia smiled. "So I see you like the idea. Well, bro, let's see how you're doing so we can prove Luke wrong," she said as she checked his vitals.

Lucky's heart rate rose a little more as Natalia checked him out and wrote down her findings, comparing them with his vitals after the stroke.

She shook her head. "That bastard must be working with grandmother again, Liz. Lucky has majorly improved since the stroke. He's on his way back to us. How can Tony say that nothing is improving, must either mean he's blind or that he's working with Helena."

"What could she be holding over his head this time?" Liz asked.

"She may have gone to him to help her hide, but we'll smoke her out one way or another," Natalia said with a smile.

* * *

Sami arrived in Port Charles later that night. She sighed as she drove into town and followed the directions Liz had given her once and arrived at GH. She got out of her car and walked into the hospital and took the elevator up to the 2nd floor. She walked up to the nurses station and waited for a nurse or doctor to notice her. At that moment, Steven walked off the elevator and recognized her.

"Samantha Gene, what in the world are you doing here?" Steven asked.

Sami quickly turned around and squealed. "Steven! Oh my god! It's great to see you!" she exclaimed as she ran for him.

Steven quickly embraced Sami and spun her around happily. "It's good to see you too! What brings you to Port Charles?"

They parted and Sami gave her good friend a serious look. "Liz emailed me and I knew she needed me."

"Understood. Liz could use all the support she can get," Steven said as he pressed the up button for the elevator. "She's taken today's shift of barricading Lucky's ICU room from anyone trying to harm Lucky."

Sami nodded. "She loves him, Steven. She's never stopped. I know that for a fact. She doesn't want to lose him again."

"Very true," Steven said as the elevator doors opened. "She lost him before, thanks to Helena. She doesn't need another tragedy to separate them again."

The two stepped into the elevator and rode up to the ICU.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Liz still sat in her chair beside Lucky's bed, refusing to leave his side even when Natalia had told her to go home and get some sleep. Natalia had shaken her head and had remarked that Liz was a perfect match for Lucky because they were both too stubborn for their own good.

A knock sounded on the door and Liz turned, yawning. Her eyes brightened when she saw who was standing just outside with her brother. She squealed as she unlocked the door. "Sami!"

"Hey Liz!" Sami greeted as the two of them embraced.

"I knew you'd come!" Liz exclaimed as they parted.

"Oh, trust me, you couldn't keep me away this time. You need me here," Sami said.

"Did something happen with you and Lucas?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, it's a long story," Sami said with a sigh.

Liz noticed as a frown came upon her good friend's face. She could tell that something bad had happened.

"So, in not so many words, you and Lucas didn't get married," Steven said.

"No, we didn't. And I put most of the blame for that on Kate. She didn't want me with Lucas and she is the one who caused me to wake up, naked, next to Brandon when the last thing I remember before that was collapsing in the entryway of Brandon's room," Sami said.

"That bitch probably drugged you and drugged Brandon," Liz said.

"I know. I told that to Lucas and he said he didn't believe that," Sami said.

"That doesn't sound like someone who loves and trusts you," Liz said.

"I know. And he says he no longer loves me and Will says he hates me," Sami says, tears filling her eyes.

"Well, he may say he hates you, but he loves you, Sami. A child could never truly hate their mother," Liz said,

"I know that, Liz. How's Lucky?" Sami asked.

"Natalia and Steven say he is steadily improving and that it shouldn't be too long before he wakes up," Liz tells her as they are left alone as Steven walks down the hall. Liz locks the door and walks back to Lucky's side and Sami stands behind her. Liz takes Lucky's hand and Sami squeezes her shoulders.

"Lucky isn't about to leave you, not when he knows how much you love him," Sami said.

"I know. But if Luke gets his way, we may lose him," Liz said.

"He won't, trust me, Liz. We will beat Luke, don't you worry," Sami said. "We will do what we have to do to stop Luke in his tracks."

A knock sounded on the door and Sami turned and saw an older man she didn't recognize outside. Liz turned at the same time and scowled at the person, who was none other than Luke Spencer himself. "If he thinks he's getting in here, he's got another thing coming," Liz said.

"Let me guess. That is Luke Spencer," Sami said.

"Yes. He is not getting in here. I need to tell him that, but I don't want to leave Lucky alone," Liz said.

"I'll stay with Lucky, you go talk to Luke," Sami said.

Liz nodded and got up from the chair and Sami took her place as Liz headed for the door. "Sami, lock the door behind me so that Luke can't get in here."

"You got it," Sami said as she quickly appeared behind her good friend. Sami watched as Liz unlocked the door and opened it, shoving Luke away from the door. Sami quickly closed the door and locked it and headed back to Lucky's side.

* * *

Outside the room, Liz glared up at the man she had considered a surrogate father. She hated him right now and she was not going to allow him to kill the man she loved.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Liz asked.

"I want to see Lucky," Luke answered.

"You are not going in that room or anywhere near Lucky," Liz said.

"Liz, you heard what Tony said," Luke said.

"Dr. Jones was wrong, stepdad!" came Natalia's voice from just down the hall. "Lucky is making his way back to us even more everyday. He is steadily improving everyday since the stroke. Tony is a total liar and I've found evidence that he is working for Helena again," she said.

Luke looked at her, shocked. "Tony would never work for her again!"

"But it looks like he is. He lied about Lucky's condition and it seems he's doing it because he is hiding the bitch," Natalia said.

Luke's face showed the anger he felt at what Natalia had just told him. "That bitch! She almost caused my son to die at my own hands! She will regret this!"

* * *

Inside the room, Sami sat by Lucky's bedside, holding his hand, humming softly to a tune that had always been a part of her life. Her parent's song. The melody had always been a comfort to her and she felt that it could be a song of comfort to Lucky.

She sat for a few minutes longer until Liz knocked on the door. Sami got up and unlocked it, letting her friend back in. Liz shot for Lucky's side as Sami locked the door again. Liz clutched Lucky's hand as Sami rubbed Liz's shoulders comfortingly. Liz needed the support.

* * *

Lucas Roberts got home from another day at Basic Black with a slight smile on his face. His life was pretty good right now. The only bad thing was the fact that he and Sami were through.

He loved her with his whole heart and soul and he was heartbroken now. But he felt he had all he needed in his life.

He walked up the stairs and up to his door, where he saw a note attached to the door. He pulled it off and opened the door. He threw his coat on the hook and sat down on his couch and opened the note.

He recognized Sami's handwriting in an instant and couldn't help the feeling of love in his heart as he began to read her note.

_Dear Lucas and Will,_

_I love the both of you so much, but it is becoming quite obvious that both of you hate me. Maybe what I've decided now is for the best._

_I'm leaving __Salem__. But the time you read this, __Salem__ will be a thing of the past. I will be on my way to a new home, a place where a friend of mine from my days in __Colorado__ needs me. She needs me to be therefor her and I want to be therefor her. I can also make a new start there._

_It is obvious to me that __Salem__ is no longer my home. You two and the rest of my family have made that perfectly clear._

_I am sorry for everything that happened. I am sorry you found me in bed with Brandon, Lucas, but as I've said, I don't know how I ended up there. I know you don't believe me, but it's the truth._

_Goodbye,_

_Sami_

Tears came to Lucas's eyes as he finished ready the note. This was the first time that Sami had felt like this. She was not known for giving up, but this time it appeared that she had.

His heart ached at what she had written. _No wonder she left, _he thought. _Will and I hating her, telling her to get out of our lives was the last straw for her._

Lucas rose from the couch and left the room, walking into his bedroom and he collapsed on his bed. He grabbed from underneath his pillow the picture of the three of them that they had taken a few months ago. They had looked so happy.

_Sami__, be happy. That's all I want for you._


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The next morning

Sami woke up and stretched. She gazed around the bedroom that Audrey had shown her to the night before. The room was simple, but definitely reminded her of a certain Webber girl. This was definitely Sarah's old room.

A cry from down the hall caused her to jump from the bed, grabbing her robe. She walked down the hall and saw just inside Liz's old room the crying toddler standing in his crib.

"Hey, Cam, what's wrong?" Sami asked softly as she approached. She picked him up and wrinkled her nose slightly. "Oh, I see what you need."

Sami quickly changed his diaper and when she was done, a smile lit up Cameron's face. "Oh, happy Cam! That's what you wanted! A fresh diaper and you're ready for the day!" she exclaimed as she sat down in the plush chair across the room and grabbed a book. She began to read as Cameron cuddled up to her.

Audrey appeared in the doorway a few minutes late with a smile on her face. "You can definitely tell that you've had experience with that," she said.

Sami looked up and smiled. "Yes. I love my son, but right now, he hates me and so does his father."

"No child can truly hate their parents, Sami. Liz is estranged from her parents because of the past, but she never has truly hated them," Audrey said.

"Will says he will never forgive me, Audrey. He says I destroyed his dream of having his family together and trust me, I don't blame him."

* * *

Liz continued her vigil at Lucky's bedside. She had gotten some rest in the nurses locker room when Emily had kicked her out for a while, but had come back. She didn't want to leave his side.

Sami had called and told her that she would bring Cameron to the hospital after a while. Sami was really starting to bond with Cameron as an aunt. In fact, Liz had introduced Cameron to her the day before and had called her aunt Sami.

Liz could see the sadness in her good friend's eyes and knew that Cameron could make some of that disappear.

Liz stroked Lucky's hand and occasionally lifted her hand to move a strand of hair out of Lucky's face. She was hoping that her touch would bring him the rest of the way back to them.

A knock sounded on the door and Liz turned to see two young women and a young man standing there. The one young woman definitely resembled Nikolas and Natalia, while the other young woman and young man resembled Lucky. Liz got up from her chair and let the three of them in.

"Hi. You must be Nadia, Leah, and Lance," Liz said.

"Yes. And we know who you are. It's nice to finally meet the young woman our brother always wrote about," Lance Lorenzo Spencer, Lucky's twin brother, said with a smile.

Liz smiled and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you as well. Lucky has told me all about you, as has Nikolas."

"I hope they said good things about us," Leah Michelle Spencer said.

"Only the best," came Lucky's voice at that moment.

They all turned and saw that Lucky was awake. "Hey Lucky, welcome back!" Leah exclaimed before she ran to his side. She quickly embraced him. "I'm so glad you have proven dad and uncle Tony wrong."

Lucky smiled at his twin sister. "Well, I'm just glad that this brought all of you home," he said.

"And it's nice to be home. If only dad was on our side," Lance said before he and Lucky also embraced.

Lucky smiled as they parted and grasped Lance and Leah's hands. "Do you feel that?"

"Oh, yeah. Our connection is stronger than ever before. Of course, this is the first time we've been together in a long time and we are adults now. The last time we were together was when we were younger," Leah said.

"Yeah, we were only eight years old the last time we were together, when mom and dad felt it was safe for all of us to be together," Lance said with a smile.

"And this is the first time all seven of us are in the same town," Nadia said from behind them.

"I haven't seen Natalia yet," Lucky said.

"She's here. She's just barricading your room from the desk outside, that's all," Liz said with a smile.

* * *

Sami drove up to GH with Cameron. Liz had told her to bring him to see Lucky, which they both hoped would bring Lucky back.

She quickly parked and grabbed Cameron and headed up to the ICU with him. Cameron liked elevator rides, Sami soon learned. "Happy Cam likes riding in the elevator? Goody!" she exclaimed in a voice that made Cameron giggle.

They arrived on the ICU floor and headed down the hall to see Lucky's door was wide open and that Lucky was awake. "Hey Lucky! Glad to see you awake!"

"It's good to be awake. Now who are you?" Lucky asked.

"Guys, this is my good friend Sami Brady. I met her when I lived in Boulder and she and I, as well as her twin brother Eric, became good friends," Liz said in introduction.

"I came yesterday, knowing that Liz needed me," Sami said.

Cameron giggled from Sami's arms at that moment and Lucky's eyes brightened. "Hey buddy!" he exclaimed.

Cameron smiled as Sami brought him forward. She handed him to Liz, who took him to Lucky. Cameron kissed Lucky's cheek before smiling and saying something Liz had never heard her son say before. "Dada!"

Lucky's eyes widened, then tears filled his eyes. "Oh, Cam, I love you," he said as he took the little boy in his arms.

Cameron leaned forward in Lucky's arms and patted Lucky's cheek, repeating, "Dada! Dada! Dada!"

Liz smiled. Her little boy knew who he wanted for his father. And that person was Lucky.

* * *

Will Roberts arrived home after he spent a night at a friend's to find his dad staring out the window of the apartment. "What's up dad?"

Lucas sighed. He turned and faced his 12 year old son. "Your mom left Salem yesterday. And it doesn't look like she will be coming back."

"How do you know that?" Will asked.

Lucas handed his son the note his mother had left and Will read it, his heart sinking at her words. Had he really made his mom feel that way? Is that why she left? The note made it seem like she had given up. Had they made her feel that way?

Will sank down on the couch, devastated. He couldn't believe it. His mom had left town. She felt unwelcome in Salem. And he and his dad had made her feel like no one wanted her there.

_Mom, I'm sorry. Please come home. _

_

* * *

_

That night, Sami had decided that, since Lucky was now awake, that she would start to look for a job in PC. She had decided first to talk to Dr. Alan Quartermaine to find out about any openings at GH. She was waiting for him just outside his office when she heard voices down the hall. Voices that seemed to be plotting against Steven. She moved down the hall to where she could hear them better.

She figured out who the two were. Rachel Adair and Courtney Matthews. And they were discussing their plan, or rather Rachel's plan, to kill Steven. _Over my dead body, bitch, _she thought as she listened to them. She knew the exact time Rachel said that she supposedly had taken the fall for Steven. He had written her about it. After Courtney left, Sami moved forward and called out, "Rachel?"

"Yes?" Rachel asked as she turned around.

"Revenge is only something that should be seeked out in order to receive justice. The question in your case is, do you deserve it or are you seeking it for no reason?"

She walked away quickly and smiled. "Let's see you consider that, bitch. You are not killing Steven for no reason. The fault was yours to take, not Steven's. You are the one who made the mistake, not him."


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Sami walked in the park later that day, enjoying the fact that she was starting her new life. Sami now had a job as patient coordinator for GH. Alan had told her that she would start in a week and she was looking forward to it.

She came upon a swing set and saw the young woman that was sitting on one of the swings, crying. "What's wrong?" Sami asked her.

The woman's head rose and tearfilled eyes rose to meet the compassionate blue eyes. "My children are missing. They've been kidnapped by an enemy of my ex-husband and I am so scared that…" she could hardly go on as sobs wracked her.

Sami approached and embraced her. "I know how you feel. My son was kidnapped and I was scared that I wouldn't get him back. But I did and so will you."

The tears calmed and the woman slightly smiled. "Thank you. I'm Carly Corinthos. I didn't think anyone else would know how scared I am, but you do."

"Sami Brady. You're Lucky's cousin, right?"

"Yeah. How is he?" Carly asked.

"He woke up earlier. He's doing a lot better now that his half-sister is his doctor rather than Tony Jones," Sami told her.

"I wouldn't trust Tony as far as I could throw him. Not after he took my son Michael years ago and after he worked for Helena," Carly said.

"Liz and his siblings think that Tony could be working for her again. If only they could smoke her out," Sami said.

Carly's eyes widened at that moment. "Oh my god! She could be the key!"

"What do you mean?" Sami asked.

"Helena worked with Faith Rosco once and she might be able to tell us where Faith has the children! She might know!" Carly exclaimed, rising from the swing with determination in her eyes.

"Then this could be more than Faith kidnapping the children for revenge against your ex. Carly, you are a Spencer. And by what Liz has told me, Helena will do anything she can to hurt the Spencer family," Sami said.

"You're right! This could be a part of Helena's revenge against my family and against Alexis, who happens to be the mother of Sonny's daughter Kristina. We must get her! We have to draw her out and get our revenge against her!" Carly exclaimed with determination.

Sami smiled. "Good! Lucky and his siblings need all the help they can get!"

* * *

That Night in Salem

Lucas faced his mother, fury filling him at what he had heard her say. "How could you!"

"Lucas, I was protecting you and Will. Sami wasn't good for you! She was not the one for you! I had to show you that!" Kate exclaimed in her defense.

"You are wrong, Kate! Sami was the best thing that ever happened to me! She is the one for me! You were just scared that she would turn Will and I against you! You just did that yourself! You set Sami and Brandon up! You put them in bed together, naked! You made sure that I would walk in to see it! I hate you! I want you out of my life and out of Will's life forever! You are dead to me from this day forward! Now leave!" Lucas yelled at her.

Kate quickly and wisely left the apartment. Lucas sank down on the couch. He held his head in his hands, thinking about what he had just learned. His mother had been against Sami the whole time. She had been right. Kate was still out to get her.

Lucas knew he had made the wrong choice in not marrying Sami, in not believing her. Now he knew that she had been telling the truth.

He rose and looked out the window. He sighed as he looked at the night sky. He found the north star and made a wish.

_Sami, please come home. I love you. _

_

* * *

_

Sami sat inside Steven's apartment that night as they discussed the next plan to draw Helena out of hiding

"Sami, that bitch couldn't resist an open target like me, right?" Carly asked.

"According to your mom, no she couldn't. A chance to eliminate a Spencer in this world for exchange for the kids. She will not be able to resist it," Sami said.

"Sami is right, Carly. Helena will jump at the chance to bring the kids home if she knows, or believes she knows, that she gets to eliminate a Spencer child. But the problem will be John, you know that," Steven said.

"To hell with John. I never should've seeked him out. This is something that needs to be done to free our family from that bitch. I need to do this for the kids and for my family," Carly said with determination.

"Then let's do this. We just have to find a way to get a message to her and see if she accepts," Steven said.

Sami and Carly nodded. "Sonny said he'll be ready. He'll make sure that I'm protected if she accepts. She will know the terms. She can't take my life unless the kids are brought home," Carly said.

"And Leah and Lance said that they would make it perfectly clear that the only way she could really take your life would be if she reveals herself to be alive and will, which would set Nikolas free," Steven said.

"And Nadia and Natalia will make it clear that Emily is not to be harmed," Sami said. "I am glad that Emily is doing better now. She's actually dealing with what happened to her."

"She's going to tell Nikolas tomorrow, right?" Carly asked.

"Yep. I'm glad she listened to me," Sami said.

* * *

Emily sat in her and Nikolas's bedroom at Wyndemere, her courage to tell him not faltering in the least. Sami had done a lot for her in the short talk they had earlier in the day.

Flashback

"Emily, you are not dealing with what happened to you! I can see that and so can Liz," Sami said.

"You know nothing! You have no idea what I've gone through!" Emily raged.

"Yes, I do. I was fifteen when I was raped, Emily. And I dealt with it with the help of my family and friends. You are not facing what happened. You are shying away from Nikolas, you are not allowing Liz to help you, you are piling it all on your shoulders and you cannot do that. Emily, face your fears. Conquer the feelings that the rape has left you with. Liz can help you and so can I," Sami said.

End flashback

Emily understood at that moment what she had been doing wrong and she became determined to face her fear and admit to Nikolas what had truly happened and understood now that she needed to deal with the fact that her rapist looked exactly like the man she loves.

She crawled underneath her covers and fell asleep, for the first time ready to conquer even her nightmares.

* * *

"So Carly is ready?" Lucky asked Sami that night.

"Yes. She'll do anything to get her boys back and to get Kristina back to Alexis," Sami said.

"So now, all that's left to do is to contact Helena and make a deal with her," Liz said.

"Yep. Carly is showing now that she is a true Spencer. We'll do anything for our family," Lucky said.

"Especially when it comes to our children," came Bobbie's voice from the door way. "We will do anything for our children, including kill."

"That's for sure. I've seen the things that you will do for your family in the past few years," Liz said.

Sami smiled. "Sounds familiar. That sounds like what I have done for the men I thought I loved," she said.

"Yeah, but it didn't always work out for you. But hopefully this will work," Elizabeth said.

"I hope so," Sami said with a sigh.


	5. Chapter Five

To sveta, my lone reviewer, thank you! Do you read all my fics on here or does it just seem like it?

Here's Chapter Five. Enjoy!

Chapter Five

One month later

"Michael, get down here! The photographer's here!" called Carly up the stairs.

Michael groaned as he came down the stairs dressed in a navy blue suit. "Mom! Why do I have to wear this?"

"Because, it is a formal family picture! Even Morgan is wearing a suit. Now get in here!" Carly told her son.

Michael walked over and sat on the couch right next to his cousin Lucky. Lucky smiled down at the nine year old and gave his cousin a squeeze. He was glad that he was home.

The plan, thankfully, had worked well. The only casualties were Helena and Faith. The women had shot each other at the very end, as Helena was about to take Carly's life. Faith had come in and shot at Helena for betraying her. Helena had gone down, but not before aiming and hitting Faith's black heart.

Carly smiled at the gathering before her before she stepped into the scene. The patriarch and matriarch of the family, Bobbie and Luke, stood behind the couch. On the couch and on small benches in front sat Lucky, Lance, Leah, Nadia, Nadia's fiancé Jonathan Steele, Natalia, Natalia's husband Michael, Nikolas, Emily, Lulu, Liz, Michael, Sonny, Ric, and Alexis. Kristina sat in Alexis's lap while Sonny held Morgan and Liz held Cameron.

At that moment, Lucas rushed into the room and sat on the arm of the couch, while Carly moved her son and sat down with Michael on her lap. The photographer moved them around, making sure the couples were in the right spots before he took the very first Spencer/Cassadine family picture.

From behind the photographer, Steven and Sami smiled. They were both happy that the Spencer family was whole, or as whole as they could be without Laura, Tony, and John.

Carly had forced her biological father out of her life weeks before. She didn't like his tactics and he didn't seem to care. Even Steven had cut ties with Durant.

Tony was not only forced out of Lucas's life, but he was also forced out of Port Charles after they had discovered that he had been harboring Helena and was working for her again. He had been suspended from GH and was told to leave town. He tried to explain his reasons, but Lucas and Bobbie wouldn't hear it. They told him to leave before Luke could kill him for lying about Lucky's condition and he listened.

Laura still had not recovered from her catatonic state even though she was no longer being drugged by Helena. But her doctors figured that Helena's drugs had already done too much damage. They all were still very shocked to find out that Laura's catatonia was brought about because Helena was constantly drugging her. The doctors said she would've recovered if Helena's drugs hadn't been administered to her.

After the big family picture was taken, each portion of the family was gathered for separate small family pictures. Bobbie's portion went first, with Bobbie in the middle with Carly to one side and Lucas on the other, with Michael in Carly's lap and Morgan in Bobbie's arms. Sonny sat beside his wife.

Luke and his extended family went next, with Nikolas, Nadia, Natalia, along with Emily, Michael, and Jonathan to his right, and Lucky, Lance, Leah, Liz and Cameron to his left.

The small family of Ric, Alexis, and Kristina went next. Kristina sat in between her mother and stepfather. Kristina smiled widely as she tried not to laugh at a face that Sami was making at her.

Once they were done, the photographer left and the celebration began. The party they had planned to have once Helena had met her maker. Sami and Steven were included in the celebration because they had helped develop the plan that had ultimately brought Helena to her end.

"To the end of Helena, Faith, and the Spencer/Cassadine War, may the darkness of their past never affect us again," Lucky said in toast.

"To the end!" Everyone exclaimed as glasses clinked together.

Sami took a sip of her wine as Steven came up beside her. "Sami, you did well in this. Your plan worked."

"Yeah, and it will be the last scheme I ever come up with unless someone needs my help. Here in Port Charles, I'm changing my ways. Starting over again. Never again will I betray the ones I love," Sami said with conviction.

A song began to play at that moment and Steven reached for her glass. "Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to," Sami said, allowing Steven to take her glass.

Steven sat the glasses on a table and took Sami's hand and they walked to the portion of the floor that had been cleared for dancing and they began to dance to a song that said everything Sami wanted her new life to be.

_One with the earth, with the sky _

_One with everything in life _

_Where are the dreams that we once had? _

_This is the time to bring them back. _

_What were the promises caught on the tips of our tongues? _

_Do we forget or forgive? _

_There's a whole other life waiting to be lived when... _

_One day we're brave enough _

_To talk with Conviction of the Heart. _

_And down your streets I've walked alone, _

_As if my feet were not my own _

_Such is the path I chose, doors I have opened and closed _

_I'm tired of living this life, _

_Fooling myself, believing we're right, when... _

_I've never given love _

_With any Conviction of the Heart _

_One with the earth, with the sky _

_One with everything in life _

_I believe we'll survive _

_If we only try... _

_How long must we all wait to change _

_This world bound in chains that we live in _

_To know what it is to forgive, _

_And be forgiven? _

_It's been too many years of taking now. _

_Isn't it time to stop somehow? _

_Air that's too angry to breathe, water our children can't drink _

_You've heard it hundreds of times _

_You say you're aware, believe, and you care, but... _

_Do you care enough _

_Where's your Conviction of the Heart? _

_One with the earth, with the sky _

_One with everything in life _

_I believe it will start_

_With conviction of the heart_

_One with the earth, with the sky _

_One with everything in life _

_I believe it will start_

_With conviction of the heart_

_(Conviction of the heart by Kenny Loggins)

* * *

_

Lucas was beginning to feel desperate. He wanted to find out where Sami had gone so he could ask her for another chance and explain what had happened that night, about the fact that Kate had set her up, not wanting her as her daughter in law.

He had decided to search through Sami's things in her apartment and had grabbed his copy of the key and headed across the hall. He unlocked the door and was shocked to find only the furniture that was originally in the apartment sitting there. None of Sami's things were to be seen.

Lucas ran down the hall to the super's apartment and banged on his door. The super opened the door angrily. "What?"

"Where are Sami Brady's things? I just went into her apartment and none of it was there," Lucas said.

The super looked at him, recognizing him as Sami's former fiancé. "Miss Brady had her things placed in storage and told me to rent out the apartment. She said she would not be coming back. And if you have a key, I need it now."

Lucas handed him the key before heading back to his apartment and collapsing on the couch. He couldn't believe it. She wasn't coming back. Sami had to come back home. She just had to.

_Thank god Will isn't here,_ Lucas thought. He was spending the day with Abby once they both got out of school. _He isn't here to see me fall apart._

Lucas fell over on the couch and began to sob. _How could I do this to Sami? How could I push her away like this? I love her!_

Lucas continued to cry as the sun started to set in Salem. His heart was breaking in two at what he had been told. _Come home, Sami, please! I love you!_


End file.
